What to Know: Baylor TE Ben Sims takes pre-draft visit with Packers
By Paul Bretl
On Wednesday, the Green Bay Packers hosted Baylor tight end Ben Sims on an official pre-draft visit, according to his Instagram. The Packers, along with every other NFL team, are permitted 30 of these such visits leading up to the draft.
Sims stands just over 6’4″ and weighs 250 pounds. He recorded a Relative Athletic Score of 8.39, which included elite vertical and broad jumps, along with a 4.58-second 40-yard dash.
As a pass-catcher, Sims was reliable, hauling in 71% of his 105 career targets over four seasons, and averaged 10.2 yards per catch, including a modest 8.2 yards per reception in 2022, along with 11 total touchdowns. He also spent about one-third of his snaps lined up in the slot, and we know it’s important that tight ends in Matt LaFleur’s offense be able to move around.
However, what may interest the Packers more about Sims’ game is that while at Baylor, he had a heavy presence in the run game, with 919 career run-blocking snaps, the majority coming in a zone-blocking scheme, which is what Green Bay utilizes most of the time. It’s also worth noting that Sims has 366 career special teams snaps as well.
For a closer look at Sims’ game, here is a brief look at what Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network would write:
"“Ben Sims projects as a traditional Y-tight end at the NFL level. The Baylor system has called upon him to serve as a key piece in the blocking front for the team’s rushing offense, putting him on the frontside to seal the edge for outside runs and charging him with creating either horizontal or vertical push and softening edges.“Sims shows good hands and his ability to get open stems back to his hard sells in the play-action game; he leaks past linebackers with good sells of run fits before popping into space.”"
We all know that tight end is a major need for the Green Bay Packers. For one, they are incredibly short on depth, with just four players on the roster currently and Josiah Deguara being the only one with any sort of NFL experience, but even he is more of an H-back.
With the Packers being short on depth, they have a number of specific roles that could be filled. They are in need of more playmaking in the passing game at the position, an element that was missing in 2022. One player who could fill that role is Utah’s Dalton Kincaid, who will be taking an official visit next week.
Green Bay could also use a more well-rounded presence to help shake some of the predictability that was in the tight end room in 2022. On top of that, with Marcedes Lewis likely not returning at this point, a more traditional blocking tight end would be valuable as well.
Fortunately, for the Packers, this is one of the deepest tight end classes that we have seen in some time, and given the need that Green Bay has, I fully expect them to use at least two picks on the position. Sims will provide the Packers with a late Day 3 option.